Loose-leaf holder.



R. HAWKINS.

LOOSE LEAF HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30, m5.

Patentd Feb. 13, 1917.

IN VEN TOR. 220 .wfim

ATTORNEY holders, and to substitute for the same a ROSS HAWKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LOOSE-LEAF HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 13, 1917.

Application filed August 30, 1915. Serial No. 48,010.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, Ross HAWKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at 2528 North Spaulding avenue, Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Loose-Leaf Holders, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in loose leaf books, and particularly to improvements in the elements for holding a the back of these books.

An object of the invention is to provide in connection with a rigid back or supporting element a plurality of plates which carry ring portions supplementing each other to form complete loops when in closed position, and rotary means for bringing said ring plates into opening position.

Another object of the invention is to dispense with the resilient back, which heretofore'has been frequently used in loose leaf rigid back in which the ring plates are movably supported.

The invention further intends to provide in connection and cooperation with the ring plates anchoring means for holding said ring plates normally in closed position and manually controlled means for moving said,

ring plates into opening position, said ring plates being returned automatically by the.

anchor into closed position whensaid manually controlled means are released.

' Another object of the invention isto provide a loose leaf holder in which it will not be necessary to grip the ring portions of the plates when it is desired to open or close the holder. The necessity for taking hold of the ring portions entailed the disadvantage that the leaves inserted in the holder were soiled by the fingers of the operator. This disadvantage is avoided by the present invention, where separate hand controlled mean areprovided for opening the holder and automatic means for closing the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means positively engaging the ring plates when it is desired to open the same, and adapted to force said plates into a position in which the gap between the ring portions is relatively large, allowing thereby the insertion or removal of a relatively large pad of leaves.

With these and other objects inview, I

have illustrated the embodiment of the invention in the accompanying drawing, wherein -Figure 1 is a top plan View ,of a loose leaf holder. i v g Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 22 ofFig. 1. s

Fig. 3 is a transversesection on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of a portion of the loose leaf holder, partly broken away.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal central section on line 5-'5 of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 6 is a detail sectional View on a larger scale, through the anchor the ring plates.

Fig. 7 is a perspective, sectional view on a larger scale, showing the combination. of a stud and parts of loose leaf holder with the metal back of the book cover, and

Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the holding means for the metal back.

The loose leaf holder comprises a back or support 1 preferably formed of sheet metal and consisting-of a bottom plate 2, lateral side plates 3 and inturned flanges 4, all of which parts are preferably made integral with each'other. A pair of ring shaped element when the holder is closed,

and for this purpose they are provided in a well known way at their free ends with inter-engaging notches and projections. V

The two ends 8 of the channel shapedback l are bent upwardly, so as to prevent longitudinal displacement of the ring plates within the same. One of said end walls 8 of the back has an aperture through which extends a rod 9, said rod being guided in a groove 10 in the bottom'portion2 of the back 1. This rod may be rotated within said groove by manipulation of a button 11 or some other form of a handle secured to the head of the rod 9 projecting from the back. The inner end of the rod is formed integral with, or connected to, a cam member 12 of substantially semicircular shape, which cam nor.

Fig. 4, through a slot 13 within said bottom plate 2. Axial displacement of said rod 9 with respect to the back 1 in one direction is prevented by the handle 11 engaging the end wall 8, while axial displacement in the other direction is prevented by the cam 12 V ments 6 and 7 are disposed so that their inner ends are moved away from each other, whereby the holder is opened.

A resilient anchor preferably in the form of a spring 16 is located at the bottom 1, on the side opposite to that on which the ring plates 5 rest. This anchor being connected with the ring plates 5 by a stud 17 and being made of resilient and yielding material has the tendency to hold the ring plates 5 in closed position. The anchor stud preferably consists of a piece of punched sheet metal and comprises a head portion 18, a shoulder portion 19 and a foot portion 20. The head and shoulder portions are connected by a reduced neck, and the shoulder and foot portions are connected by a reduced stem. Opposite cut out portions 25 on the inner edges of the ring plates 5enter between the head and shoulder portions of the stud and straddle same, so that in the movement of the ring plates caused by rotation of the cam 12, the stud is moved upwardly as shown in Fig. 5. The anchor, to the middle portion of which the foot portion 20 of the stud 17 is connected, must follow the movement of the stud 17, whereby said anchor element, is placed under tension. Upon return rotation of the cam 12, the tension of the anchor is released and in the downward movement of said middle portion of the anchor the stud will be moved downwardly, and also cause the closing movement of the ring plates which are engaged between the head and shoulder portion of the stud.

The neck portion of the stud preferably rests in a depression 22 of the bottom plate as indicated in Fig. 2. From Fig. 6 it is apparent that the head of the anchor stud 17 projects above the ring plates when the holder is in closed position, the arrangement of the parts in closed position being shown in full lines in said figure. When the holder is open the parts will occupy the position shown in dotted lines in, Fig. 6, and it will be noted that in this condition the head of the anchor stud projects slightly only above the ring plates. The edges of the cutout portions 25 onthe ring plates slide along the edges of the neck portion of the stud. The advantage of this arrangement is, that the papers held within the loose leaf holder are not disarranged by the projecting stud when the holder is opened. 7

Fig. 8 illustrates the attachment of the metal back, to which the cover of the book (not shown) is fastened, to the support for the loose v leaf holder. A metal plate of curved cross section as indicated at 26 is provided with a pair of flanges 27 projecting horizontally fromthe upper edge of the plate. These flanges are provided with tongues 37 punched out from the material of the flanges and the upper portions of said tongues are bent over horizontally as indicated at 28, Fig. 8. The bottom of the chan nel shaped support 1 is provided with apertures 29 which will permit the insertion of said tongues into the channel. If the tongues have passed through the apertures the metal back 26 is imparted a sliding movement in that direction in which the tongues are bent, so that a withdrawal of the metal back from the channel cannot be effected without first imparting a sliding movement to said metal channel in the direction opposite to the slid ing movement mentioned above. In order to avoid the return sliding movement, an end of the'channel is provided with a depression 30 adapted to enter by spring action into a depression 81 on the flange-27 of the metal back. By the mutual engagement of the two depressions 30 and 81 an interlocking effect of the two members 1 and 26 is attained, so that a return sliding movement of one element with respect to the other can only be accomplished after one of said depressions has been released from interlocking engagement with the other depression.

The fabric 34 to which the lining for the book cover, or the cover itself (these elements not being shown in the drawing) is attached, is secured between the metal back 26 and a similar metal back 35, the two metal backs being secured to each other by means of rivets 36 or by other suitable means. The inner metal back 26 also is provided with end walls 38 which project in direction toward the channel 1, and which thereby render access to the anchor 16 impossible, as long as the parts are assembled.

I claim:

1. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ring plates a support for said ring plates, a yielding anchor engaging said support, means extending through the support connecting said ring plates with said anchor, and means carried by said support for mov ing said ring plates into opening position.

2. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ring plates, a channel shaped support for said ring plates, a yielding anchor, means connecting said anchor and said ring plates for maintaining said ring plates normally in closed position, and rotary means associated withsaid support and said ring plates for moving said ring plates into opening position.

3. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ring plates, a channel shaped rigid support, said ring plates being movably held within the channel-opening of said support, a resilient anchor engaging the outside of said support, an element connecting both of said ring plates with said resilient anchor, and rotary means guided in said support for overcoming the resiliency of said anchor to move said ring plates into opening position.

4. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ring plates, a channel shaped rigid back in which said ring plates are movably supported, a resilient anchor, a stud loosely connecting said ring plates with said resilient anchor, and means for moving said ring plates into opening position and placing said anchor under tension.

5. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ring plates, a channel shaped rigid back supporting said ring plates, a resilient anchor disposed on said channel on the side opposite to the side on which the ring plates are supported, a stud extending through said support firmly connected with said anchor and loosely connected with said. ring plates, a rod rotatably guided on said support and means on said rod engaging said ring plates for opening the same and for placing the resilient anchor under tension.

6. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

ring plates, a channel shaped back in which said ring plates are movably supported, ro-

tary means guided by said support for opening said ring plates, and means for automatically returning said ring plates in closing position upon rotation of said first named means.

7. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ringplates, a channel shaped rigid back, in which said ring plates are supported, rotary manually oper'atable means for opening said ring plates, and a resilient anchor for said plates, and a stud connected to said anchor and in permanent engagement With both of the ring plates.

8. A loose leaf holder comprising a pair of ring plates, a channel shaped back in which said ring plates are movably supported, rotary means guided by said support for opening said ring plates, means for automatically returning said ring plates to closing position, a curved back plate, a plurality of tongues detachably connecting said curved back plate with said channel shaped support, interlocking depressions on said back plate and support for making sliding movement of said elements relative to each other impossible, and end walls on said back plate for preventing access to said automatic returning means.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

, ROSS HAWKINS.

Witnesses:

GHAs. RIEGER, A. S. Rom).

Washington, D. C. 

